Left wing extremists and "anti-fascists" riot and attack people in Sacramento "counterprotest"
Officer: Left-Wing Extremists Started Sacramento Riot
A California law enforcement officer speaking exclusively to Breitbart News on condition of anonymity said that the group of 30 permitted demonstrators from the extremist Traditionalist Workers Party were physically attacked Sunday in Sacramento by a group of about 400 protesters organized by a group called By Any Means Necessary (BAMN).
While media reports focused on the fact that 10 people were injured after a “clash” between white supremacists and leftist radicals outside the state Capitol, the words and actions of the violent (BAMN) showed that it was a preplanned attack.
Reuters reported: “At least 10 people were injured at a rally outside the California state capitol in Sacramento on Sunday as members of a white supremacist group clashed with counter-protesters, authorities said.”
Then Reuters quoted one of the left-wing leaders:
“We have a right to self defense. That is why we have to shut them down,” Yvette Felarca, a counter-protester wearing a white bandage on her head, told reporters after the clash.
The attack was not “self defense,” as Felarca claimed and the media repeated. In the United States, free speech — even, and especially, offensive speech — is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.
The full name of Felarca’s group is The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary — but it is usually shortened to By Any Means Necessary (BAMN).
The group and Felarca herself have a history of gain engaging in violent protest.
In 2012, Felarca was described as a “Northern California Coordinator of BAMN and a middle school teacher in Berkeley.” She was an activist in the Occupy movement and in Black Lives Matter-connected protests at the University of California at Berkeley, where she told the New York Times she thought “militant” actions were appropriate:
“Riots are the voice of the unheard,” said Ms. Felarca, a Berkeley alumna. “You can never replace the lives of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, but you can always replace broken windows.”
Felarca was also involved in the Burlingame, California protest that forced Donald Trump and his Secret Service detail to leave their vehicle:
Activist Yvette Felarca declared victory. “To force Donald Trump to have to hop a fence, to sneak into the back entrance?” She laughed triumphantly. “Yeah, he was humiliated. But it’s not about just today, it’s about building a movement. This is just a beginning.”
BAMN is not a fringe group, however; it has union connections and a penchant for “direct actions.” In an article from 2012 entitled “BAMN Pushes Teachers Unions Toward Radicalism,” the leftist site In These Times talked about the group:
A student-teacher alliance that operates as a joint caucus within the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and National Education Association (NEA), BAMN uses litigation and direct action to combat racial inequality throughout the public education system. Its work ranges from organizing against school closings to fighting for greater black and Hispanic representation at public universities.
Deeper in the article, however, the group’s violent nature and intimidation tactics emerge:
BAMN has critics of its own. The group’s no-wait, rough-and-ready tactics have rankled craft-oriented teacher unionists, federal officials, and segments of the Left who view its brand of militancy as overly divisive. Several teachers and observers (who agreed to comment on condition of anonymity) cited run-ins with pushy or persistent BAMN organizers, or accuse BAMN of alienating potential supporters by inciting physical confrontation at actions or taking overly uncompromising stances.
In that 2012 article, Felarca makes exactly the same claim of “self-defense” while justifying her groups of violent behavior.
“Accusations of violence should be directed against the police or administrators … in instances of confrontation,” Felarca says in response. “We believe every movement has a right to defend itself.”
But aside from their past statements, the dead giveaway that BAMN’s claim of “self-defense” is simply a euphemism for attacking the free speech rights of people they don’t agree with comes from the group’s website.
In an article entitled “NO ‘FREE SPEECH’ FOR FASCISTS!,” BAMN provides Exhibit A against itself and its history of openly planning and carrying out violence.
The leftists of BAMN proudly proclaim they plan to “mobilize in full force” to shut down the peaceful gathering of what it determines are “fascists.” And by fascist, they make it clear that they mean not just National Socialist groups like the Traditionalist Workers Party, but also Donald Trump and anyone they feel is committing racism, chauvinism or anti-Muslim bigotry.
Here are the bullet points from their flyer:
• SMASH FASCISM! NO PLATFORM FOR ORGANIZING RACIST VIOLENCE, MURDER, AND GENOCIDE!
• No Racist Demagogy! No Anti-Muslim Bigotry! No National Chauvinism, Fear Mongering, or Immigrant Scapegoating!
• Latina/o, Black, Native American, Arab, Asian, and White, Immigrants With and Without Papers, We are ALL Californians!
• Open the Borders! Full Citizenship Rights for All Undocumented Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum-Seekers Now!
• Build the New Independent, Integrated, Mass Militant Youth-Led Civil Rights and Immigrant Rights Movement!
On Sunday, June 26, the fascist Traditionalist Workers’ Party, the Golden State Skinheads, and other neo-Nazi/KKK supporters are planning to hold a public recruitment rally on the West Steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento to launch a campaign of racist terror in California. They are not rallying to merely talk and listen to each other and then go home. They want to use this rally to recruit new members and organize for racist attacks, beatings, murders and genocide. Their immediate aim is to capitalize on the growing political polarization in this nation, most clearly expressed in the presidential campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump, to turn back the advance of the new civil rights and youth movement that has electrified California and inspired the nation. These racist, would-be murderers have no right to organize their racist violence in California or anywhere. Their rally must be stopped by any means necessary.
** Read the rest of their message calling for violence on their website**
Stabbings In Sacramento as Neo-Nazis, ‘Anti-Fascists’ Clash at Capitol
Seven people were sent to the hospital with stab wounds, two with life-threatening injuries, on Sunday afternoon as Black Bloc anarchists attacked and fought with white supremacist groups outside the state Capitol in Sacramento.
Several other demonstrators who managed to avoid the hospital suffered bruises after the groups engaged in a chaotic melee.
The Black Bloc activists were part of a militant leftist “anti-fascist” group,”Antifa Sacramento.” The right-wing extremists were members of the Traditionalist Worker Party and the Golden State Skinheads, and were holding a permitted rally.
The black-clad anarchists, carrying signs reading “Nazi scum,” outnumbered the Traditionalist Workers Party / skinhead group, which was oringally slated to include members of other groups, including “Blood & Honor,” the National Socialist Movement, and the Ku Klux Klan.
The “anti-facist” protestors carried signs reading “Nazi scum.” Shortly before noon, emergency responders were called to the scene as the demonstrations turned violent.
The Los Angeles Times also reported:
Some protesters came dressed for battle, several seen carrying wooden batons and some wearing plastic shields. “They came ready to fight,” said Cooper.
One local television crew was accosted by the protesters that showed up to confront the white supremacist group.
John Breedlove, a videographer for KCRA-TV, said the protester “took his skateboard and just slammed it into the reporter’s gut.” Neither journalist was seriously injured.
Many media reports are quoting the Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-wing organization, which has provided a description of the Traditionalist Workers Party. For example, Fox News writes:
The Southern Poverty Law Center described TWP as a group formed in 2015 as the political wing of the Traditionalist Youth Network, which aims to “indoctrinate high school and college students into white nationalism.”
It is worth noting that the SPLC does not seem to acknowledge the rising danger of the “anti-fa” or “anti-fascist movement,” which makes no distinction between fringe groups like the Traditionalist Workers Party and ordinary people who attend Donald Trump events.
As Breitbart’s Adelle Nazarian points out: “The anti-fa and Anarchists are one and the same now, and they also have the same colors, i.e. red and black. Under this same Anti-fa or anarchist umbrella there are also anarchists that claim to not adhere to violence. The Black Bloc are part of this group, but they are actually the violent anarchists. This is a growing movement.”
Members of “anti-fascist” groups like the ones who attacked protestors have also been been responsible for a number of attacks around the country, including attacks on Donald Trump supporters at recent rallies. Some of these attacks follow hyperbolic allegations by some on the left (and even some on the right, such as Glenn Beck) that Donald Trump is “Hitler.”
Anti-fa groups were also behind the attack on journalist Lauren Southern from the Canadian news site The Rebel:
Although the fringe Traditionalist Workers Party group claims to be against leftism, its political agenda shares many similarities with the far left, including its avowed support for socialism and its hostility to Israel and “Zionists.”
In a video broadcast discussing the attack, the TWP also favored the same racial separatist agenda as left-wing groups. As previously reported by Breitbart News, groups like the Freedom Road Socialist Organization believe that Chicano and black people should have their own separate countries. Similarly, commentators on the right-wing extremist Red Ice TV show have suggested that racial groups have their own land area. Similar views are shared by some members of Democrat-connected groups such as Black Lives Matter.
The BAMN and Anti-FA counter-protestors started attacking anyone in the vicinity, including reporters, livestreamers, and even chased some random guy bicycling through the park. Exactly the kind of violence their flyer and website said they were protesting against.
Here is cell phone video of the fight. The protestors\rioters catch and attack the group at 2:00.
A journalist for ABC also caught a majority of the attacks on her twitter feed. https://twitter.com/ABC10Frances
I don't support either side of this conflict, but no matter what their political beliefs are people should be able to gather for political events without being attacked. In a civilized country there might even be debates and discussions about the issues. It's called free speech, and it's how a civilized country behaves. But in California the laws are not applied equally, there are sanctuary cities and a protected class that is given benefits and leeway not given to regular citizens. This has emboldened them, to the point that they are now openly attacking people in groups.
Until the government decides to start enforcing the laws equally this is how politics in 2016 is going to be, just like in 3rd world countries around the globe. Cover your face and attack anyone who disagrees with you....
Upvoted you
Looks like it's going to be a long hot summer.
The Superbowl of Protest will be in Cleveland this Year
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2016/04/index.html
Holy crap, they are planning on it hitting the fan bigtime!
I might just have to watch this superbowl!
Very well written! Fantastic post.